{{Short description|Finnish-Canadian American football player (born 1993)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Use Canadian English|date=December 2015}} {{Infobox NFL biography | name = Tyler Varga | image = | image_size = | caption = | number = 38 | position = Fullback | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1993|9|24}} | birth_place = Stockholm, Sweden | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 0 | weight_lbs = 222 | high_school = Cameron Heights {{nowrap|(Kitchener, Ontario, Canada)}} | cis = Western Ontario (2011) Yale (2012–2014) | college = | cfldraftyear = 2015 | cfldraftround = 3 | cfldraftpick = 19 | undraftedyear = 2015 | pastteams = * Indianapolis Colts ({{NFL Year|2015}}) | highlights = * Bushnell Cup (2014) * Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award (2014) * 2× First-team All-Ivy (2012, 2014) * Peter Gorman Trophy (2011) | statlabel1 = Rushing yards | statvalue1 = 2 | statlabel2 = Rushing average | statvalue2 = 2.0 | statlabel3 = Rushing touchdowns | statvalue3 = 0 | statlabel4 = Receiving yards | statvalue4 = 18 | statlabel5 = Receiving average | statvalue5 = 18.0 | statlabel6 = Receiving touchdowns | statvalue6 = 0 }}
'''John Tyler Varga''' (born September 24, 1993) is a Finnish-Canadian-Swedish-Croatian<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2365113-combine-chronicles-for-tyler-varga-not-enough-hours-in-the-day |title=Combine Chronicles: For Tyler Varga, 'Not Enough Hours in the Day' |publisher=Bleacher Report |access-date=July 29, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/2587185-varga-s-homecoming-kitchener-native-better-than-ever-on-the-gridiron/|title=Varga's homecoming: Kitchener native better than ever on the gridiron|work=Waterloo Region Record}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanfootballinternational.com/tyler-vargas-international-roots-have-taken-him-to-the-nfl/|title=Tyler Varga's International Roots Have Carried Him To the NFL|date=16 September 2015}}</ref> former professional American football fullback. Varga played college football at the University of Western Ontario, where he was named the OUA Rookie of the Year in 2011,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westernmustangs.ca/news/2011/11/11/FB_1111115831.aspx|title=Tyler Varga named OUA Rookie of the Year|work=westernmustangs.com|date=November 11, 2011|accessdate=July 29, 2015}}</ref> and Yale. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL), where he spent one season, and is the first Finnish player to play in NFL.
== Early life == Varga was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His mother Hannele Sundberg is originally from Vantaa, Finland, and his father John Varga is of Croatian descent.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.is.fi/muutlajit/art-2000000988421.html |title=Tekeekö tämä tuntematon mies suomalaista urheiluhistoriaa – unelmasopimus miljardiliigaan! |last1=Holopainen |first1=Pekka |date=September 7, 2015 |website=IS.fi |language=fi |access-date=January 9, 2019}}</ref>
== College career == {{BLP unreferenced section|date=January 2023}} Varga attended the University of Western Ontario for one season in 2011, where he was named team MVP, conference player of the year and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) National Freshman of the Year.
Before the 2012 season, Varga transferred to Yale University, where he played for the rest of his college career. He finished at Yale as a three-time All-Ivy honoree with 529 rushing attempts (ranked 5th in Yale history), 2,985 rushing yards (ranked 4th), 5.6 yards per carry (ranked 2nd), and 31 rushing touchdowns (ranked 3rd). Following Varga's senior performance, he was honored as the 2014 Offensive Player of the Year and awarded the Asa S. Bushnell Cup, which honours the Ivy League Player of the Year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-12-08 |title=Yale's Varga, Harvard's Hodges, Princeton's Zeuli Named 2014 Ivy League Football Players Of The Year, Bushnell Cup Recipients |url=https://footballfoundation.org/news/2014/12/8/_55053.aspx |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=National Football Foundation |language=en}}</ref> Varga was the eighth Bulldog to receive the Cup in Yale's ninth recognition, its first since 2007. He graduated in 2015 with a degree in ecology and evolutionary biology.
==Professional career== In May 2015, after going unselected in the 2015 NFL draft, Varga signed as an undrafted free agent with the Indianapolis Colts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=GRMP |first=Philip Walker / Kitchener Staff |date=2015-05-04 |title=Kitchener’s Tyler Varga agrees to free-agent deal with Colts |url=https://www.therecord.com/sports/waterloo-region/kitcheners-tyler-varga-agrees-to-free-agent-deal-with-colts/article_856ba686-4f77-5675-82cb-fbf30f6346e2.html |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=The Record |language=en}}</ref> In a preseason game against the St. Louis Rams, Varga scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-03 |title=From Yale to NFL for Colts RB Tyler Varga? |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/indianapolis-colts/post/_/id/13469/from-yale-to-the-nfl-for-colts-rb-tyler-varga |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref> He made his NFL regular season debut in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills. The following week against the New York Jets, Varga made 4 kick returns for 98 yards. In Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans, Varga suffered a concussion in the Colts' win. On October 14, he was placed season-ending injured reserve.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stampedeblue.com/2015/10/14/9532293/colts-sign-running-back-ahmad-bradshaw|title = Colts sign Ahmad Bradshaw|date = 14 October 2015}}</ref> On July 26, 2016, Varga retired from the NFL.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/07/26/tyler-varga-retires/|title=Tyler Varga retires|last=Florio|first=Mike|work=profootballtalk.nbcsports.com|date=July 26, 2016|accessdate=July 26, 2016}}</ref>
===Statistics=== {| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" ! rowspan=2|Year !! rowspan=2|Team !! colspan=2|Games !! colspan=5|Rushing !! colspan=5|Receiving ! colspan=2|Fumbles |- ! GP !! GS !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! FUM !! Lost |- ! 2015 !! Indianapolis Colts | 3 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 2.0 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 18 || 18.0 || 18 || 0 || – || – |- ! || Total ! 3 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 2.0 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 18 || 18.0 || 18 || 0 || 0 || 0 |}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== * [http://www.colts.com/team/roster/Tyler-Varga/3ff18af1-1f5b-46fd-8952-97035b8be03c Indianapolis Colts bio] * [http://www.yalebulldogs.com/sports/m-footbl/2014-15/bios/varga_tyler_8gie Yale Bulldogs bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905071629/http://www.yalebulldogs.com/sports/m-footbl/2014-15/bios/varga_tyler_8gie |date=2015-09-05 }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Varga, Tyler}} Category:1993 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian football running backs Category:American football running backs Category:Finnish players of American football Category:Players of American football from Ontario Category:Indianapolis Colts players Category:Western Mustangs football players Category:Canadian people of Finnish descent Category:Yale Bulldogs football players Category:Canadian people of Croatian descent Category:Finnish people of Croatian descent Category:Sportspeople from Stockholm Category:21st-century American sportsmen
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